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Handbook of Neurotoxicology pp 363–381Cite as

The Epidemiology of Human Illnesses Associated with Harmful Algal Blooms

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Abstract

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are harmful to people predominantly through their elaboration of a wide variety of very potent natural toxins that can accumulate in water or food. The toxins can be acutely lethal, and can cause a wide range of both acute and chronic health effects, including neurologic, dermatologie, pulmonotoxic, hepatotoxic, and immunotoxic illnesses and cancer in humans and other species. Many of these toxins are tasteless, odorless, and heat- and acid-stable; thus normal food preparation methods and conventional water treatment processes will not prevent intoxication if the food or water is contaminated (1–7).

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  1. Lora E. Fleming
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  2. Lorraine Backer
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  3. Alan Rowan
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  1. The National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, USA

    Edward J. Massaro

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Fleming, L.E., Backer, L., Rowan, A. (2002). The Epidemiology of Human Illnesses Associated with Harmful Algal Blooms. In: Massaro, E.J. (eds) Handbook of Neurotoxicology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-132-9_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-132-9_19

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